


The First Written Words

by FebruaryFun



Series: Laetus City [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Childhood, Fluff, Henry has always loved his books, Henry's Childhood, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-10 23:54:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20144083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FebruaryFun/pseuds/FebruaryFun
Summary: Henry is learning to read, but gets frustrated because of his stutter. Luckily, he has his parents there to help him.





	The First Written Words

**Author's Note:**

  * For [confinesofpersonalknowledge](https://archiveofourown.org/users/confinesofpersonalknowledge/gifts).

"It w-was a peci-pe-pec-culi-ar... pecucl- pe- pec- mm!"

Henry made a frustrated sound as he tossed his book on the floor, crossing his arms and fighting back tears. Ever since preschool he'd been on a higher reading level than his classmates. He was only a first grader and he was already reading chapter books. However, his grades on his English assignments were the worst in the class this year. Henry had a horrible stutter, one that kept him from speaking most days. He could communicate with his parents without using words, and there were plenty of kids with red eyes who were happy to help him communicate with others and be his friend, but that wasn't enough for his class. The teacher was saying that if he couldn't decently read out loud by the end of the school year, he would have to be held back. Therefore, he was sitting on the couch by himself, trying to read out loud.

He'd just picked up a book called _A Little Princess_. It had a pretty cover, so he picked it up and checked it out of the school library, deciding that this would be the book to teach him to read out loud. That was how he thought about it, really. He didn't teach himself to read. The books taught him.

This book, however, must not have liked him, because he wasn't making any progress. He couldn't even get past the first page!

Mrs. Appleton came into the room when she heard the book hit the floor, frowning. "Henry, you know better. That's no way to treat a book, especially a book that isn't yours."

Henry pouted up at him. "C-cc-ca-n-t..." He gestured to the book, then his mouth. His mother softened, picking up the book.

"That's still no way to treat a book Henry. And you can, you just need to figure out how." She picked the book up and sat next to him. "Why don't we watch a movie instead?" Henry gave her a hopeful look and she laughed, picking up the remote. His favorite movie was still in the DVD player from the other day. "Inkheart it is." She pressed play, letting Henry get lost in the story about the 

*~~~~~*~~~~~*

Later that night, Henry stared at the book sitting on his bedside table. The cover still looked pretty, even though he could barely see it in the light of his nightlight. After a moment, he got up, grabbing his toy flashlight and sitting on his bed with the book.

*~~~~~*~~~~~*

Mrs. Appleton was woken up in the middle of the night by the soft sound of a child's voice. Was Henry talking to himself in his sleep? He'd never done that before. She got up to check on him, walking to his door that was left open a crack. What she saw melted her heart.

"Sara stayed with her father at his hotel for several days; in fact, she remained with him until he sailed away again to India. They went out and visited many big shops together, and bought a great many things. They bought, indeed, a great many more things than Sara needed; but Captain Crewe was a rash, innocent young man and wanted his little girl to have everything she admired and everything he admired himself, so between them they collected a wardrobe much too grand for a child of seven. There were velvet dresses trimmed with costly furs, and lace dresses, and embroidered ones, and hats with great, soft ostrich feathers, and ermine coats and muffs, and boxes of tiny gloves and handkerchiefs and silk stockings in such abundant supplies that the polite young women behind the counters whispered to each other that the odd little girl with the big, solemn eyes must be at least some foreign princess—perhaps the little daughter of an Indian rajah... And at last they found Emily, but they went to a number of toy shops and looked at a great many dolls before they discovered her."

Henry was reading aloud to himself, clear as day. Mrs. Appleton had never heard him speak so clearly. He had lost himself to the book, letting the words flow through him, not trying to force it. His little voice was sweet and smooth and captivating.

Mrs. Appleton stayed next to his door for another hour, just listening to her son read. Finally, she sighed to herself and stepped into the room. "Henry... You know you're not supposed to be up this late. Come on, let's bookmark that. Time for bed." She kissed his temple. "...I'm proud of you. We'll have pancakes tomorrow to celebrate."

She'd never forget the spark in Henry's eyes as he beamed up at her. His favorite book would always be _A Little Princess_.

**Author's Note:**

> Henry never does get over his stuttering, but when it comes to reading our loud, he's incredible.


End file.
